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  • Ken On Tech: Tips for buying Oasis tickets this weekend #Oasis25

    Ken On Tech: Tips for buying Oasis tickets this weekend #Oasis25

    Oasis are returning to Irish and UK stages in 2025. The cat’s out of the bag and 15 years on from their acrimonious ‘split’, the boys are back together. With another Ken On Tech radio piece, this week I’m taking a look at how you can set yourself up to buy tickets on Ticketmaster, whether it’s for Oasis or any other gig upcoming.

    I’ll guarantee you this – there weren’t 500,000 Irish fans queuing for tickets to see Liam Gallagher on his own this year. Similarly, for Noel Gallagher’s latest High Flying Birds gigs, there weren’t 500,000 fans looking for tickets. However, put them together and call them Oasis, and you could be looking at half the country trying to get tickets for this new tour from one of the top live bands of all time.

    If shops around Ireland were still selling physical tickets, the queues would have started at 8am today following the announcement that the band responsible for some of the biggest-selling albums and concerts of the past 30 years will be heading to Croke Park in August 2025. There would be tents out, folding chairs, and radio reports from the hopefuls at the top of the queue explaining how they had skipped work, missed job interviews, taken holidays, or feigned an injury, just to get their hands on Oasis tickets.

    https://twitter.com/oasis/status/1828326826655068657

    But physical Ticketmaster outlets are a rarity these days, the move to strictly-digital sales all but complete, meaning it’s anyone’s game when it comes to getting your hands on tickets.

    A presale ballot is being run by the band via Openstage, with those picked for the presale getting a chance to buy tickets on Friday, likely 12-24 hours before the general sale begins. You can register in advance, answer some band questions, and hope for the best. (Update: Millions have registered for this, causing all manner of consternation ahead of the weekend).

    https://twitter.com/oasis/status/1828499059427951094

    What’s definitely, maybe more concerning for Irish Oasis fans is that sales for dates in Dublin on August 16 and August 17 will go on sale at 8am this Saturday morning, an hour before UK sales begin. If I was a fan living in the UK, worried about the millions trying to get their hands on tickets to Cardiff, Edinburgh, Manchester or London, I’d be doing whatever I could to get into the Irish queue.

    So how best do you prepare for the Oasis ticket sales on Saturday morning?

    Tips for buying Oasis tickets on Ticketmaster for the #Oasis25 tour

    Sometimes, buying tickets via Ticketmaster is a breeze. This weekend could yet be carnage, so to give yourself the best possible opportunity, here are some simple tech tips you can follow. After that, it’s in the lap of the Ticketmaster gods.

    1. Get your device ready

    For starters, here’s a few things you can get out of the way

    • Windows updates: If you’re planning on using a desktop PC or laptop to make your purchase, make sure there are no unexpected updates due. The ticket sales start at 8am, meaning people are going to be logging into Ticketmaster.ie from early morning. Early hours are typically ‘non-working’ hours for Windows devices, seen as an ideal time to run Windows updates. The last thing you want is to get caught in a surprise update that prevents you from getting into the virtual queue. So, make sure your devices are up-to-date, or at least you’ve ignored any updates on the day.
    • Internet connection: Check your data connections before you log on – is the home broadband or Wi-Fi working? Is your mobile data allowing your phone get online? If in doubt, restart connections, then get yourself set up.
    • VPN connection: This one comes from Ticketmaster – when it comes to a VPN, it’s not advised for buying tickets. Any suspicion on your connection, whether obscuring your location, blocking connections etc. could be treated as a ‘bot’ and you may find your place in the queue suspended before you’ve even got a chance to pick tickets.
    • Clear your cookies: Starting from a clean slate with your web browser is good practice, especially where you’ve got pages and login sessions cached. Clear the cookies, sign in from fresh.

    2. Online purchasing – get your payment method ready

    If this is your first time buying anything online, make sure that you’ve got your debit or credit card set up for online shopping in advance. New cards in particular may need registration in advance through your mobile banking app (AIB, Bank of Ireland, Revolut). You should also keep your phone handy in case you need to authorise a ticket payment through your banking app. Most 2FA/MFA transactions appear first via notifications on your mobile device. Have you got these turned on? If not, you might also find the notifications within your mobile banking app once signed in.

    3. Get your Ticketmaster account ready

    When it comes to your Ticketmaster account, there are a few things to note. In my case, I’ve not signed in in a few weeks so I’ve been prompted to pick a new password. The last thing you need on Saturday morning is to be asked to set up a new password, then you can’t get a connection to the account screen, or the password emails don’t arrive in time. While it might not be an issue for smaller gigs and events, given the anticipated demand for Oasis tickets this weekend, I would be very surprised if the walls don’t come crashing down with different sections of the website unavailable or a queue-for-the-queue being implemented.

    So, with your Ticketmaster account, before Saturday morning (or Friday if you get into the presale)

    • Make sure you’re able to sign in and your login details are up to date
    • Have your current mobile phone number registered as you may be sent a code in order to connect to the waiting room on Saturday morning
    • Have a payment method (Credit or debit card) saved in advance so you’re able to complete your purchase, if you’re lucky enough, in time.

    4. Get yourself ready

    Tickets go on sale at 8am. People will be queuing from early. You can’t expect to connect at 8am on the dot and be among those at the front of the queue (that’s another debate entirely as to the mechanism for placing people in the queue).

    So, give yourself time, and with the demand for tickets, I would suggest being logged into your Ticketmaster account, and getting into the waiting room for tickets at least 30 minutes before the sale begins. That might mean setting the alarm even earlier if you still need to check your device for updates, passwords, credit card details and the likes.

    5. Join the queue

    It’s going to be busy. And when it gets busy, Ticketmaster like to start a queue for the queues, to throttle traffic on the website and control the flow of users from page to page.

    Know the date you want tickets for, get to the ticket page and when prompted, join the waiting room. At this stage, you’ll be told you don’t need to do anything else with a countdown timer taking up the middle of your screen. Once the timer reaches <1 minute, there will be a pause before the screen automatically refreshes and drops you into the queue. You’ll know your exact queue position at all times, but – and I hate to break it to you – unless your position in the queue is less than 15,000 I would say the odds of getting affordable tickets are minute.

    6. Avoid multiple tabs or devices for the same date

    Here’s the deal – you can join multiple queues. That is to say, you can get in the waiting room and queue for tickets for the same act, for separate dates. When you’re logged in on your chosen device and assigned a place in the queue, you’re issued a queue ID. It’s one ID per user per event. For example, if you open your laptop and try to get tickets for Saturday, then have your mobile phone open and you’re looking for tickets for Saturday, you run the risk of either losing your place in the queue entirely (suspended), kicked to the back of the queue, or missing out on tickets if you get that far.

    Those signing in through the same account, for the same date, on multiple devices will be prompted that they’re already in a queue position another device and given the choice to remain queuing on their current or an alternative device.

    The same goes for trying to get tickets for the same date in different tabs on your browser. You can, however, join queues for separate dates on the same or separate devices. So, for two days for Oasis you could try connecting on a computer for one date and your mobile phone for another.

    Most importantly, don’t close the tab or window you’re on, and don’t be tempted to refresh either – you’re trying to keep your place in line, even when it looks like it’s not moving along.

    7. Stay patient

    There may be times where the countdown of places in the queue looks like it’s not budging at all, but it’s still ticking away in the background. Those in early will likely spend more time getting through tickets as transactions get processed one after the other.

    Once you’re in, you’re in, whether your position is first, 1000th or 220,000th in the queue. All you can do is be patient. Whether tickets or not remain by the time you get in is another thing. Sometimes perseverance pays off as others drop off out of the queuing process, freeing up spaces and moving things along.

    8. Know how much you’re willing to pay

    Taylor Swift’s recent Era’s tour showed the world that we’re entering a whole new age of ticket pricing, with some fans happy to pay beyond the €300 mark to sit in the nosebleeds of the Aviva Stadium. Ticketmaster also operates a dynamic pricing system for some events, similar to the way airlines operate. The fewer tickets there are, and the more in-demand they are, the more they’re likely to cost you. It’s been heavily criticised in the past, but if you think you’re getting away with just spending €86.50 plus fees for a ticket, you’ve got another thing coming.

    With a pre-sale taking place on Friday, it’s very possible that those getting tickets through the pre-sale can avail of them at face value, but beyond that is anyone’s guess.

    Update: By the time the Oasis tickets went on sale on 31 August, standing tickets had changed to ‘in demand’ via Ticketmaster’s dynamic pricing and were selling n excess of €400, a far cry from the approximately €170 they were available for on Friday.

    9. Resist the temptation to use ViaGoGo, StubHub

    Official ticket resales are only happening through Ticketmaster and Twickets. If you chance going through third-party websites, with ticket prices likely to double, treble or quadruple, you’re taking a sizeable financial risk. The same applies for tickets available on a “DM for details” basis through social media platforms.

    None of the above will guarantee you a ticket for Oasis, Taylor Swift, Coldplay or any other marquee tour landing in Dublin, but at least if you’re forewarned, you’re forearmed.

    What if I missed out on Oasis tickets?

    If you missed out on tickets to Oasis come Saturday, there may be two options. The first is a cert, with Ticketmaster confirming that the official resale for tickets begins on Monday 2 September, meaning fans with extra tickets can sell them for up to face value via Ticketmaster. This is very much a case of supply and demand as it depends on other buyers listing the tickets for sale but once they’re gone, they’re gone. They could also appear any time from Monday through to next year’s concert, so there’s no harm checking in now and again. No doubt there will be UK fans who bought Irish tickets, hedging their bets, only to land UK tickets too. Easiest way to get money back in a hurry? Sell them back through official channels.

    The other is that a second weekend of dates may well be announced. With Croke Park not likely to be needed for GAA purposes beyond early August, and with demand in the UK already adding a number of additional dates, it’s possible we’ll see two more nights of Oasis gigs on the weekend of 25/25 August.

    Ken On Tech is a monthly tech feature on KCLR as part of The KCLR Daily. The show itself airs weekdays from 10am-1pm.

    Update 31/8: This author didn’t stand a chance of getting tickets,logging into the waiting rooms at 7.30am only to find some 78,000 users in the virtual queue for Saturday night, with a further 55,000 in the queue for Sunday. Others breezed through, some joined later only to find a half million users ahead of them. We go again.Read about it here.

  • Ken On Tech: 6 tips for the new year and a digital “detox” that’s good for the soul

    Ken On Tech: 6 tips for the new year and a digital “detox” that’s good for the soul

    Radio life has me doing many things, including a monthly feature called Ken On Tech on The KCLR Daily, KCLR’s mid-morning show presented by Brian Redmond and running 10am-1pm Monday to Friday. You can listen here.

    Today (8 January) is the first feature of the year so I’ve gone to the studio armed with six tech tips for the new year, not explicitly related to radio or podcasting but definitely with much broader appeal and a little challenge to finish things off. These might save you money, save your sanity, and give you a little bit more freedom for the year ahead. Let’s dive in.

    1. Audit your digital subscriptions

    We’re a week into 2024 but when it comes to saving a few quid, any time is a good time to start looking. In terms of subscriptions, especially when it comes to Christmas, there can be a lot of trial signups that lead to ongoing subscriptions, even more so with mobile apps these days that start with a “free trial” that you need to cancel a few days before the billing starts. If you’ve got Amazon Prime, Disney, Paramount+, Netflix and Spotify then you’re potentially shelling out €50-60 a month. Got a PS5 or Xbox with online subscriptions but you’re not gaming online? That could cost you another €150 a year.

    And to bring it back to radio and podcasting, are you paying for podcast hosting or memberships that you’re not using, is there room to let them go? Did you know that using services like Press Reader if you’re a member of your local library could net your newspapers and magazines for free?

    Make a list of all the digital subscriptions you’ve got and you’ll be surprised how quickly they can add up.

    2. Update your passwords

    I’m a stickler for this, especially in the work setting but when it comes to critical accounts like email or banking, social media etc. I’ll look to change passwords often and I’ll use a password manager like 1Password to help generate and store complex passwords. We’re well past the stage in life of using the same password for everything but if you’re still in that boat, I would implore you to start making changes and updates. Biometrics can be handy as well, if you’ve got finger print access or facial recognition for a mobile device, they can add a layer of security without the need to remember complex passwords.

    3. Implement 2FA/MFA everywhere you go

    From a work point of view, this is a must, and if you’re reading this in a position where you manage password or access control, especially for email services, then you really should have 2FA/MFA involved. If you’re unfamiliar with the acronyms, they 2FA stands for ‘two-form authentication’ while MFA stands for ‘multi-factor authentication’. 2FA is a security system that requires two separate, distinct forms of identification to access something (think your standard password, plus a one-time password). MFA requires at least two or more forms of identification (think your standard password, plus a one-time password, plus finger print).

    Google and Microsoft provide authenticator apps for Android and iOS devices. The catch, of course, is that if you use a code generator on your mobile device it means you need your mobile device available in order to access the service you want. That might prove difficult if you’re trying to log into your email on someone else’s computer (as an example) but your phone is dead or you’ve left it behind you. Still, the extra layer of security can save a lot of headaches.

    Learn more about MFA here.

    4. Clean up your inbox

    A cluttered inbox can be overwhelming and if you saw the state of my work account yesterday after a few weeks away it would give you chills. I’ve seen worse, mind, having serviced inboxes with a hefty five to six figures worth of emails left unread, no organisation and unread notices on all devices. You don’t need the hassle or anxiety it can bring so if you’ve got a busy inbox, set aside some time this week to clean it all out.

    Services, like unroll.me (the EU might have a flag on the play for this one), can help unsubscribe from unnecessary newsletters and promotional emails. Email services like Outlook, Gmail etc. provide an infinite amount of rules and tools to help you categorise emails, ship them off to folders, label them and make your inbox more manageable.

    You could also take my approach – get to a point in the year where you just hit ‘select all’ and ‘move to archive’. If it’s important, it will come back. If you don’t need it and haven’t looked in your archive, trash it. A clean inbox is like a clean desk or a freshly-made bed, a thing of beauty.

    5. Review privacy settings in apps

    With frequent updates to social media platforms, especially in an Irish setting thanks to the introduction of GDPR in recent years, it’s worth reviewing privacy settings regularly to ensure the platform’s settings are still in line with your own preferences.

    We’ve seen changes to services from Meta (Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp), X (formerly Twitter), TikTok and more in recent months about how personal information is being used or garnered through continued use of the service. If you’ve got a lot of historical content on Facebook, for example, did you know that they provide an option to restrict all previous posts to just you, or your friends, and take them (generally) out of the public view? Even that alone might be a good place to start.

    6. Educate yourself on phishing scams and online security

    Working in the radio space it’s very easy for me to say this – don’t become the focus of one of our news stories, especially if it has to do with scams or security. Week-in, week-out, we hear of stories popping up in the news or those that have been reported to local Gardaí where someone has been duped out hundreds or thousands of Euro off the back of taking a fake support call from someone purporting to be Microsoft or Google, or even their bank. It could be a call, it could be an email that looks authentic but is leading you down a path where you may end up giving up personal information and security information like passwords, banking codes etc. Once that information is in the hands of a bad actor, anything could happen and sometimes the worst does.

    Microsoft have some handy tips here on how to spot a phishing email that are well worth a read if you’re unfamiliar with them.

    7. Take a digital detox

    Last one for this month, if you’ve found yourself doom-scrolling over the Christmas break or you can’t get through an episode of something from your soon-to-be-cancelled streaming TV provider without your phone in your hand, maybe it’s time for a digital detox.

    Consider limiting your social media use in the evening and at weekends. Stop oversharing. Be more mindful of your screen time and start engaging in more offline activities like working your way through that pile of books beside your bed since Christmas 2021, spending more time with the family, or go for a meal without your phone. A little less screen time and a little more peace of mind in 2024 isn’t such a bad thing – if nothing else, it’s good for the soul!

    Got your own tips to share? Email ken@kenmcguire.ie and catch the Ken On Tech segment on The KCLR Daily on the first Tuesday of every month.

  • From sport to food, reintroducing the Ken On Food podcast

    From sport to food, reintroducing the Ken On Food podcast

    Forgive me father, it’s pre-pandemic times since I released a podcast under the Ken On Food banner.

    By way of returning to content creation on the food front this year, I’ve scrubbed, washed, peeled, seasoned and freshened up the Ken On Food podcast feed and kicked things off (today) with the first instalment of Food In 5 Minutes.

    At the tail end of 2020 I had released a short run of episodes under the same name, highlighting five stories from Ireland’s food scene and beyond that had caught my eye during the week. I’d share some thoughts, plenty of links in the blog notes and aim to get it all done in five minutes or less. In the real world, I had equated it to me buying the Business Post in the local shop only to skim the newspaper to look for the stories I was interested in while having a cup of coffee.

    Skip through a few Covid-clouded years on the food front and I’ve slowly been getting back into the food writing groove. And, after three years straight of producing sports and gaming podcasts – namely with The Football Manager Football Show – I think it’s time to get back to matters food.

    In what might be a bold move, I’ve ditched everything previously published on the feed and moved podcast hosts as well for the new run. Looking at the content previously published, seeing news stories from the end of 2020 doesn’t really hold any relevance now and, while enjoyable, some of those featured in the long-form interviews have either changed roles or seen their businesses wind down, such was the impact of the pandemic. Switching platforms is in no way a reflection on the previous podcast host as I’ve got over a dozen shows sitting with them, but I’ve been curious to try out the Acast platform from a creator standpoint and so the Ken On Food podcast has jumped ship there. You can find the Acast feed here.

    So what’s the Ken On Food podcast about?

    As the name suggests, it’s me, talking about food. I’m building things out to bring the podcast in a variety of flavours from the snack-sized Food In 5 Minutes episodes, to longer-form interviews and discussions with two specific series planned for later this year. To begin with, you’ll find new episodes of Food In 5 Minutes available on Sunday mornings, dropping in time for that first espresso of the day.

    In each episode you’ll get five news stories spotted across the week, with the show notes on the blog backing things up with additional links to all stories, extra finds and some highlights from the blog of the past seven days. You can listen to the first episode below.

    If you fancy adding it to your weekend listens, you can subscribe for free on Spotify or Apple Podcasts where positive reviews are always welcome!

    On a closing note, happy new year! It’s been fun getting back to writing on matters tech, podcast and radio and there will be plenty more to come this year. If you would like to get in touch, you can email me at any time, ken@kenmcguire.ie.

  • Get those ads ready: 2023/24 Irish Audio Awards open for entries

    Get those ads ready: 2023/24 Irish Audio Awards open for entries

    Entries have opened for the 2023/24 running of the Irish Audio Awards.

    Launched by Radiocentre Ireland in 2022 as a joint venture between the IBI (Independent Broadcasters of Ireland) and RTÉ, the aim of the Irish Audio Awards is to showcase the unique strength and power of audio by recognising and rewarding work done in the audio realm, celebrating creativitiy in audio advertising and championship the teams behind the winning work.

    Per the official website, “It’s the art of audio, coupled with science, sonic properties, dynamic audio, awesome and massive and big. Audio has such potential, it’s so big, bigger than we imagine. The best radio engages emotionally, it’s not a passive experience and we are great storytellers, great talkers. The innovation is always changing and there’s respect in the presence of a good idea. Creatives are competitive people and audio is one of the most creative medium, we should be world leaders and we are scratching the surface.”

    There are 10 categories open for entry this year and an additional Grand Prix award will be announced on the night. These are

    • Business (B2B advertising)
    • Consumer (B2C advertising)
    • Audio for Change (where audio is created for a charity, not-for-profit, social movement, for government etc. and the goal will be positive societal change)
    • Use of Music (recognising exceptionally creative or innovative use of music or sound design in audio advertising)
    • Sound Design (rewarding the process of composing, specifying, acquiring, manipulating, or generating audio elements including sound effects, location recordings, ‘atmos’ etc.)
    • Copywriting Craft
    • Casting (where voice performance is integral to the success of the spot)
    • Innovation (recognising the innovative use of technology in audio advertising)
    • Speculative (not yet aired or published)
    • Broadcaster (original work by a radio broadcaster)

    The Grand Prix category is awarded by the jury from entries made across the other general access categories, but can’t itself be entered. Full category details, 2022 winners audio and submission guidelines can be found here. Last year’s Grand Prix award went to Publicis Dublin for their Pick Up The Pace campaign for Virgin Media, a collaboration with JyellowL to release the fastest hip-hop track in Ireland. Take a listen below.

    Last year’s event took place in Dublin’s Smock Alley theatre with the 2023/24 edition slated for Thursday 14 March 2024.

    You need to have registered on the Irish Audio Awards platform to make submissions and you can do that here.

  • Black belt broadcaster? How Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and radio are more alike than you think

    Black belt broadcaster? How Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and radio are more alike than you think

    This might sound a bit strange to some, particularly if you’ve never dabbled in martial arts, but working in radio or broadcasting is more like Brazilian jiu-jitsu than you might imagine.

    I”ll preface this by saying I’ve a couple of years of BJJ under my belt, training at Team Ryano Kilkenny (now Myalo), though work and life changes mean it’s also been a few years since I’ve been back on the mats. As it happens, the last time I was on the mats was close enough to the last time I hosted the afternoon shift, something I’ve been back covering for the past two weeks. I’d like to think that the skills you pick up on the gym floor are much like the skills you pick up in a studio environment – they stick with you, but ultimately they need nurturing if you’re going to develop.

    Sure, muscle strains, chipped elbows and rapid rises in your heart rate every five to ten minutes aren’t typically associated with a live radio show but stick with me for a minute. Here are five reasons I think Brazilian jiu-jitsu and radio are more alike than you think.

    1. Discipline and practice

    Success in the worlds of radio and Brazilian jiu-jitsu relies heavily on discipline and consistent practice. On the BJJ side, you get out what you put in, something that’s made very evident early in your BJJ journey. Let’s say you do one 60-90 minute class a week. That class is usually divided into time spent learning a technique, time spent implementing that technique with a partner, and time in a live ‘rolling’ session, putting everything you’ve learned into play. That’s a very short amount of time you’ve got to hone your craft.

    Similarly, in radio, you’ve got schedules to adhere to and hours to clock up to perfect your craft. As a beginner (let’s call you a white belt broadcaster), one 45-50 minute show a week or month is only going to get you so far. To advance, you’ve got to clock up the hours, put the work in, perfect your techniques and test them in the live environment. Saying practice makes perfect isn’t just for the craic.

    Brazilian jiu-jitsu. Photo: Hugazo Boss / Pexels
    Brazilian jiu-jitsu. Photo: Hugazo Boss / Pexels

    2. Continuous learning

    Both radio, especially commercial radio and Brazilian jiu-jitsu require a commitment to continuous learning. From an on-air perspective, you’re staying up to date with the latest trends, technologies, content creation techniques, libel and defamation, changes to the law, software, hardware and more. With BJJ, you’re constantly learning new techniques, strategies, gameplans, and different ways to chain moves to help you advance positions and improve your skills.

    Some of the learning for BJJ takes place on the mats while other instruction is more from the live environment that gives you experiences to draw on. Maybe you watch YouTube tutorials (just don’t piss off your coach with the latest YouTube trend on the mats) but if you’re watching content on YouTube, similarly for radio you should always be listening. Not just to your colleagues or your own station’s content, but broaden your horizons and listen to more podcasts, make notes, and listen to other radio shows and presenters at home and away. Note their approaches to links, content, and interviews.

    If you really want to further your learning in the radio game, why not make use of the regular Learning Waves courses open to those working in the industry in Ireland. Particularly with libel, defamation, social media and more, there’s always something to be brushing up on.

    3. Handling adversity – getting comfortable being uncomfortable

    BJJ has long been referred to as ‘the gentle art’ when it comes to martial arts. The running joke is that you extend the phrase to ‘the gentle art of folding clothes with someone still in them’. I’ve been there on both sides, doing the folding and getting properly folded. One thing that was drilled into me from day one in the gym was that you will – and need to – learn to get comfortable being uncomfortable. You’ll find yourself under pressure, running tight on time in rounds with the clock ticking down, in the pressure cooker of a competition environment, you’re trying to avoid effectively getting strangled or contorted all while trying to get your own job done.

    The same applies to radio and for anyone considering getting into live radio in particular, be it at community or commercial level, local or national, get comfortable in being uncomfortable. Whether that’s handling a particular topic or a difficult guest (we’ve all had guests who only communicate in yes or no answers), changes to programming, your playout system not working, a lull in a live game when you’re supposed to be in full commentary flow – whatever the situation is, if you can be comfortable in those uncomfortable situations, you’ll be all the better a presenter for it.

    Brazilian jiu-jitsu. Photo: RDNE Stock Project / Pexels
    Brazilian jiu-jitsu. Photo: RDNE Stock Project / Pexels

    4. Problem solving

    As a broadcaster, you’ve got to be able to think on your feet and solve problems quickly. Pre-show, that means being able to work through creative ideas and content, how you’re tackling particular issues to make sure the right, balanced message, comes across. Hand-in-hand with point three above, it also means you’ve got to be able to adapt in the moment should you run into any ‘live’ problems.

    For BJJ, I think the whole sport is problem-solving, especially if you’re opponent is the problem. Have they taken your back? Are the hooks in? Is their arm under your chin? This could be a problem. In a sport that’s all about action-reaction, you learn very quickly to troubleshoot and problem-solve your way out of trouble and on to the win. Unless you get yourself out of one submission attempt only to fall into another, we’ve all been there, but that’s also part of the continuous learning…

    5. Teamwork and collaboration

    As a presenter, you might be the face of your show but radio isn’t really an industry with room for solo runs. Listen to some of the talk shows around the country (I’m sure it’s the same elsewhere as it is in Ireland) and you’ll hear a credit list of researchers, producers, executive producers, reporters, engineers and more who have contributed to the successful running of a programme on air.

    And sure, you may be on your own on air, and you may not have a producer, but I’m sure you’ll have colleagues you can bounce off, sales teams you’ve worked with for competitions, reception teams answering phones and calls and more. There’s an awful lot of teamwork and collaboration that goes into making radio happen, and it’s exactly the same on the gym floor for BJJ players. True, it could be seen as an individual sport as it always comes back to one-on-one encounters, but you don’t ever get into a one-on-one encounter without having trained and sparred with your coaches, training partners, and clubmates. It takes a village and all that.

    So as much as you think the worlds of radio and Brazilian jiu-jitsu might be worlds apart, they both take a fierce amount of dedication, resilience and a willingness to learn and adapt that makes them more alike than you might think.

    By way of a plug for my own parish, if you’re looking to explore the world of Brazilian jiu-jitsu and fancy getting comfortable being uncomfortable, or indeed folding clothes with people still in them, give the lads at Myalo a shout in Kilkenny. They’ll either open their doors to you or point you in the right direction for a club or academy near you.

  • And the winner is: Irish Podcast Awards 2023 winners list

    And the winner is: Irish Podcast Awards 2023 winners list

    Some of the movers and shakers from the Irish podcast scene took to The Morrison Dublin on Tuesday night for this year’s iteration of the Irish Podcast Awards.

    In all, 28 awards were handed out across a range of genres and categories, including the overall Podcast of the Year and the publicly-voted Listeners’ Choice award. You can view the original shortlist for this year’s awards here.

    The Irish Podcast Awards are hosted by PodPod, this year sponsored by GoLoud.

    2023 Irish Podcast Awards Winners

    You’ll find some images and more from the night here.

  • A brief return: Heading back on the airwaves for a two-week stint

    A brief return: Heading back on the airwaves for a two-week stint

    If you’re a regular KCLR listener, you may recognise a change in presenter this week and next between the hours of 1pm and 4pm.

    Beginning after the lunchtime news tomorrow (Monday) and continuing through Monday 27 November, I’ll be making a short return to the afternoon lineup in place of John Keane. Have no fear, he’ll be back in your ears from Tuesday 28 November but between now and then you’ll find me keeping Carlow and Kilkenny company during the week.

    It’s over three years since a Covid-induced schedule change saw me step out of KCLR Drive in the afternoons (3pm to 5.30pm) to concentrate on what was then a relative unknown – how were we going to ensure the continuity of operations, the introduction of remote working for virtually the entire station and more.

    Overseeing sporting operations for the past two years meant a return to air in a different capacity, primarily as the voice of sport on Monday and Tuesday mornings but there’s nothing quite like the feeling of steering your own ship for a few hours a day.

    Now, I say ‘own’ ship but it’s very much keeping the show flowing as it has been. If there’s one thing you pick up as a radio presenter, if you’re asked to cover a show whether for a day or a week or a month, it would be wise to begin by covering the show ‘as is’. Should you find yourself in a position where you’re covering a show or you’re hoping to pick up cover work, it’s wise to chat to the regular presenter of the show to look at the placement of features, links, music, competitions and more. Then bring your own personality and away you go.

    So, running order in hand and with some new station-wide competitions kicking off in a few days’ time, if you’re looking for me Monday to Friday you’ll find me live here, here and here and across Kilkenny and Carlow on 96 to 96.9 FM from 1.15pm to 4pm until 27 November.

    Looking forward to this one!

    Listen: KCLR Drive in 2020

    One of the last interviews from KCLR Drive before the country went to hell in a handbasket saw Hermitage Green join me in studio to talk about an album and tour that would eventually get pushed out courtesy of the pandemic. The live tunes were on fire that day though. So, if you’ve never heard me on air before, here’s a clip. I won’t have changed too much since.

  • Sound & Vision fund round 50 sends €2.4m to independent radio stations in Ireland; round 51 open to TV, radio

    Sound & Vision fund round 50 sends €2.4m to independent radio stations in Ireland; round 51 open to TV, radio

    The awards for Round 50 of the Sound & Vision funding for radio and television through Coimisiún na Meán have seen €2.4m in additional funding announced for commercial radio stations in Ireland.

    Round 50 sees 29 funding awards in total, ranging from €35,000 to €95,000, with funding set to be used for programming specific to a range of topics including media literacy, digital transformation, GEDI (gender, equality, diversity and inclusion) and developing communities and communities of interest. Per media development commissioner Rónán Ó Domhnall, this latest round of funding “will also assist stations to explore opportunities that increase audience engagement through training and outreach activities, in particular for minorities and newer communities.”

    The majority of independent radio stations around Ireland are included in the awards list (PDF) among them, FM104 who have secured €70,000 for their project Dublin: Rainbow Rising, Midlands 103 and KCLR who both take the maximum €95,000 award for two projects respectively, Collective Communities and Amplifying Voices Less Heard.

    Bauer Media have also secured €200,000 in funding to be split between Spin 1038, Spin South West, 98FM and Cork’s Red FM.

    Other projects set to begin development include Futurescape: Shaping Tomorrow’s Waterford (WLR) and Ctrl Shift Save – Life in a Digital Age (Newstalk).

    Round 51 funding open

    While Round 50 may have been a special round, Round 51 is currently open for applications from broadcasters and independent producers, for both television and radio. In all, €6.9m has been made available for the final funding round of the year.

    Per CNAM, Round 51 “will also have a specific focus on programmes that support gender, equality, diversity, and inclusion, with a particular focus on integration and the voices of new Irish communities. “

    Full details and support documentation can be found here. The deadline for this round is 12pm Friday 14 December.

    Sound & Vision is a funding mechanism for television and radio projects, supported by the television license fee.

  • 2023 Irish Audio Report: Live radio continues to dominate total audio listening as smart speaker ownership soars

    2023 Irish Audio Report: Live radio continues to dominate total audio listening as smart speaker ownership soars

    This week saw the release of the 2023 Irish Radio Report, bringing with it some key findings about the listenership habits of the general population in Ireland.

    From the most recent JNLR data (up to the end of June 2023) we already know that 80.2% of people listen to radio on average daily, translating to around 3.3 million sets of ears. Not only that, but the average time spent per listener per day on radio is four hours, and seven minutes. Since 2018, JNLR figures will also show you that the daily audience for live radio in Ireland has gone from 3.1 million to 3.3 million listeners.

    What the 2023 Irish Audio Report shows is that when it comes to our consumption of audio content is live radio is very much the dominant force when it comes to audio listening. Audio content in itself is up at 98% of the adult population weekly with live radio commanding a 92% share of that audience.

    Bring that back to an average day in relation to time spent listening to any audio and live radio takes a 74% share of the market, the remainder given over to on-demand content. Interestingly, within on-demand audio, podcasts only account for 3% when compared to other music streaming (12%) or YouTube Music (7%) While streaming services gain more ground with young adults (15-24 years old) at a 29% share, podcast consumption still remains at 3%.

    Other key points of note show that smart speaker ownership is up from 13% to 45% in four years while almost 40% of adults are now paying for a subscription service on one or more online platforms – either for ad-free audio streaming, YouTube premium (again, ad-free) or podcasts.

    Download a 47-page PDF copy of the report here or read more via Radiocentre Ireland.

    Watch: The Irish Audio Report 2023

  • Top 5: Irish Podcast Awards announce shortlist for Listeners’ Choice award

    Top 5: Irish Podcast Awards announce shortlist for Listeners’ Choice award

    Following on from the release of the shortlists all the big categories at this year’s Irish Podcast Awards, event organisers have published the list of the top five podcasts that will battle it out for the coveted Listeners’ Choice award.

    They are

    You can see a full list of the 2023 Irish Podcast Awards nominees here.

    Among the sponsors for this year’s event are GoLoud, Global and Acast. PodPod play hosts with Virgin Media news duo Zara King and Richard Chambers presenting the evening at Dublin’s Morrison Hotel on 21 November. The event was previously scheduled for House Dublin but had to move venue due to ticket demands.

    The Australian Podcast Awards also take place on the same date.

    Listen: Shortlisted Podcasts (recent episodes)

    Ah Ref

    Big News Coming Soon

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